Grow Local Colorado is a group of volunteers dedicated to promoting local food, local community, and local economy.
Grow Local Colorado and Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado
Team Up for the 5th Year to Grow Vegetables
Helping Residents and Families in Need
For five years, the statewide volunteer organization Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado (VOC) has partnered with Grow Local Colorado to grow vegetables in Denver’s city parks, at the Colorado Governor's Mansion, and at various community nonprofits.
In late May, another fruitful season of growing local produce will begin. During the evening hours of May 24 and 26, VOC volunteers will head to Observatory Park and Friends of the Haven – a therapeutic community shelter that provides rehabilitation services to women with addiction issues – to plant edible gardens that create healthy, sustainable communities. In the fall, VOC volunteers will harvest these vegetables and then donate them to local food banks, shelters, and families in need.
Volunteer work on VOC’s gardening projects with Grow Local Colorado is always fun, easy, and child-friendly. Tasks involve preparing the garden beds, weeding, working the soil, and planting vegetable seeds and seedlings. Gloves, shovels, and plants are provided, and all volunteers need to bring is a willingness to get a little dirty. Note: These gardening projects fill up very quickly due to popularity, and although no further volunteers are needed for these particular efforts, there are other opportunities for community involvement available at voc.org/volunteer.
Since 2011, in collaboration with Grow Local Colorado, which provides seedlings, gardening tools and expertise, 650 VOC volunteers of all ages have contributed more than 1,500 hours of time to grow, harvest, and donate 19,738 pounds of fresh produce, valued at $38,520. In 2013, VOC began helping take down the gardens by cutting up the plants before they go into Grow Local Colorado’s compost piles – eliminating 30 truckloads of compostable waste from going into the landfill!
In late May, another fruitful season of growing local produce will begin. During the evening hours of May 24 and 26, VOC volunteers will head to Observatory Park and Friends of the Haven – a therapeutic community shelter that provides rehabilitation services to women with addiction issues – to plant edible gardens that create healthy, sustainable communities. In the fall, VOC volunteers will harvest these vegetables and then donate them to local food banks, shelters, and families in need.
Volunteer work on VOC’s gardening projects with Grow Local Colorado is always fun, easy, and child-friendly. Tasks involve preparing the garden beds, weeding, working the soil, and planting vegetable seeds and seedlings. Gloves, shovels, and plants are provided, and all volunteers need to bring is a willingness to get a little dirty. Note: These gardening projects fill up very quickly due to popularity, and although no further volunteers are needed for these particular efforts, there are other opportunities for community involvement available at voc.org/volunteer.
Since 2011, in collaboration with Grow Local Colorado, which provides seedlings, gardening tools and expertise, 650 VOC volunteers of all ages have contributed more than 1,500 hours of time to grow, harvest, and donate 19,738 pounds of fresh produce, valued at $38,520. In 2013, VOC began helping take down the gardens by cutting up the plants before they go into Grow Local Colorado’s compost piles – eliminating 30 truckloads of compostable waste from going into the landfill!
“VOC has been an incredible partner over the past five years. Because of them our gardens have been planted in a timely, efficient, and meticulous manner,” said Barbara Masoner, Co-Director of Grow Local Colorado. “And, the VOC staff is a joy to work with; they are always prepared, organized and, best of all, enthusiastic. VOC shares our goals of healthy gardens, a healthy environment, and healthy Colorado residents. It would be difficult if not impossible to start and end our grow season without VOC’s fabulous volunteers. We are so grateful for all VOC does to make our state green and beautiful.”
VOC and Grow Local Colorado look forward to many future projects together, and a continued partnership that supports both the local economy and community.
VOC and Grow Local Colorado look forward to many future projects together, and a continued partnership that supports both the local economy and community.
About Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado (VOC)
Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado (VOC) is a statewide nonprofit volunteer organization dedicated to motivating and enabling people to be active stewards of Colorado’s natural resources. Since 1984, VOC’s award-winning volunteer, youth, and leadership training programs have engaged more than 105,000 people of all ages in caring for Colorado’s outdoors – a total donated labor value of $21 million. Such volunteer efforts have made a lasting impact on Colorado through hands-on work in wildfire and flood restoration, trail building and maintenance, gardening and invasive weed removal, tree planting and re-forestation, and much more. Learn more at www.voc.org.
A Community Effort
In the past seven years Grow Local Colorado's mission to grow and share fresh produce with and for those in our community lacking access to healthy food has grown in many ways. We started with one garden and now oversee ten. Our first season provided about 250 pounds of produce to three local organizations serving those in need. Last year we shared over 4,000 pounds of vegetables with a dozen such groups. We started with a handful of volunteers providing a little over 100 hours of their time to growing vegetables. In 2015 544 volunteers put in more than 1,000 hours starting seedlings, prepping gardens, weeding, harvesting, demonstrating food preparation and delivering fresh picked vegetables to organizations throughout the Metro Area. Our first season's harvest was valued at a few hundred dollars. Since then our gardens have produced over $40,000 worth of fresh vegetables. In short, we couldn't have done this without our volunteers. We are so deeply grateful for the time and talents shared by so many of you.
Unfortunately the numbers of hungry Metro residents has also grown. Therefore we are looking for groups to commit to one morning or evening per month, from June through September, to help in one of our gardens. We'll provide an experienced gardener to supervise the group. This is a fun way to enjoy an hour or two outdoors, while knowing you are helping your neighbors in need. If interested in helping, please contact us at: GrowLocalColorado@gmail.com.
Unfortunately the numbers of hungry Metro residents has also grown. Therefore we are looking for groups to commit to one morning or evening per month, from June through September, to help in one of our gardens. We'll provide an experienced gardener to supervise the group. This is a fun way to enjoy an hour or two outdoors, while knowing you are helping your neighbors in need. If interested in helping, please contact us at: GrowLocalColorado@gmail.com.
Join our Google Group
Grow Local Colorado is no longer sending out email newsletters.
We now have a listserv which will serve as a "Virtual Town Hall" so we can share information with each other!
Come join the fun!
Click the envelope above to send an eMail to join our NEW Google Group
or send an eMail to:
growlocalcolorado+subscribe@googlegroups.com
Questions?
Email: Dana@GrowLocalColorado.org
We now have a listserv which will serve as a "Virtual Town Hall" so we can share information with each other!
Come join the fun!
Click the envelope above to send an eMail to join our NEW Google Group
or send an eMail to:
growlocalcolorado+subscribe@googlegroups.com
Questions?
Email: Dana@GrowLocalColorado.org
Harvest from Governor's Mansion
by St John's Episcopal Church volunteers
by St John's Episcopal Church volunteers
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